Renewing your trade mark

When you have registered your trade mark, you may think that there is no further action to be taken.

However, you are wrong!

The protection over your trade mark only lasts for a 10-year period. This can, however, be renewed every ten years for an indefinite amount of time.

You will have to submit an application to successfully renew your mark.

This application will be dealt with by the UK Intellectual Property Office.

It is essential, however, that you keep track of time as if you miss the renewal of your mark, you may loss control of it.

To renew your mark successfully, it is best to submit your application in the 6 months before the mark expires. A reminder will be sent to you by the UK IPO 3 months before the expiration date if you haven’t renewed by that point.

The form to complete is the TM11 which needs to be submitted to the UK IPO with the fee of £200. The Trademarkroom can assist you with this, for your peace of mind.

If a renewal application is not made during this 6 months, the mark will expire on the 10-year mark.

This is not the end of the story however.

In the 6-month period after the expiration date, a trade mark can be revived if an application is submitted. You will be charged an additional £50 as a late fee but your renewal should be successful.

Both of these applications can be made online via the UK IPO’s website or by post.

However, if you want to regain control of your mark after 6 months of its expiration but within a 12-month period, you can apply for the mark to be restored. This application needs to be made through the post, filling out the TM13. To be successful, you need to explain the good reasons you had for not submitting your application on time. This can be difficult to show and the UK IPO allow a very limited number of marks to be restored.

Therefore, it will always be our advice to renew on time otherwise your mark could be removed from the register and open for another to use.

For more information, contact The Trademarkroom

By Ellis Sweetenham